U.S. born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki killed

Newch91

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/30/world/afr ... ?hpt=hp_t1

Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- American-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who preached terror as the public face of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has been killed in Yemen, the nation's Defense Ministry said Friday.

The United States regards al-Awlaki, who was believed to be hiding in Yemen, as a terrorist and the biggest threat to its homeland security. Western intelligence officials believe al-Awlaki is a senior leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), one of the most active al Qaeda affiliates.

Al-Awlaki was killed about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the Yemeni town of Khashef, east of the capital city of Sanaa, Mohammed Basha, a Yemen Embassy spokesman in Washington, told CNN. Basha said the operation was launched at about 9:55 a.m. local time, though he did not say what type of operation was conducted or how al-Awlaki was killed.

A senior U.S. administration official confirmed al-Awlaki is dead, though no details surrounding the operation that led to the cleric's death were released. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to CNN. The official was not authorized to release the information.

Born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, al-Awlaki lived in the United State until the age of seven when his family returned to Yemen. Al-Awlaki returned to the United States in 1991 for college and remained until 2002.

It was during that time that as an imam in California and Virginia, al-Awlaki preached to and interacted with three of the September 11 hijackers, according to the 9/11 Commission Report. He publicly condemned the attack afterward.

Al-Awlaki spent 18 months in a Yemeni prison from 2006 to 2007 on kidnapping charges, but was released without going to trial. Al-Awlaki claims that he was imprisoned and held at the request of the United States.
U.S. officials say al-Awlaki helped recruit Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, the Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a transatlantic flight as it landed in Detroit on December 25, 2009.

The militant cleric is also said to have exchanged e-mails with accused Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hassan, who is accused of killing a dozen fellow soldiers and a civilian in a rampage at the Texas base.

Early this year, a Yemeni court sentenced al-Awlaki in absentia to 10 years in prison for charges of inciting to kill foreigners.

Prosecutors charged al-Awlaki and two others with "forming an armed gang" to target foreign officers and law enforcement in November.

At a U.S. congressional hearing earlier this year, Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said, "I actually consider al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, with al-Awlaki as a leader within that organization, as probably the most significant threat to the U.S."

Al-Awlaki narrowly survived an American drone assault in May after he switched vehicles with fellow jihadi, a senior security official told CNN.

Attorneys for al-Awlaki's father, Dr. Nasser al-Awlaki, tried to persuade U.S. District Court Judge John Bates in Washington to issue an injunction last year preventing the government from the targeted killing of al-Awlaki in Yemen.

But Bates dismissed the case in December, ruling that Nasser al-Awlaki did not have standing to sue.
In a November hearing, lawyers for the U.S. government refused to confirm that the cleric was on a secret "kill list" or that such a list even exists.

Last year, YouTube removed a number of video clips featuring al-Awlaki that it found to be inciting violence.

gimmesometruth27

i wonder how many millions of dollars we spent to get this one guy?

i guarantee a hundred thousand more americans could have health insurance for that price.

our priorities are so fucked up...

bennett13

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

i wonder how many millions of dollars we spent to get this one guy?

i guarantee a hundred thousand more americans could have health insurance for that price.

our priorities are so fucked up...

Change you can believe in, right?

cincybearcat

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

i wonder how many millions of dollars we spent to get this one guy?

i guarantee a hundred thousand more americans could have health insurance for that price.

our priorities are so fucked up...

So, you disagree with this?

What if he lead an attack against the US killing American citizens...would you then be blaming the administration, DoD, CIA, FBI for not doing their jobs?

Really, I just want to know.

Because as I've grappled with these types of issues over the last decade and my own beliefs on them, I think this is part of an effective strategy and much better than nation building. But I do have some concerns with it as well.

CH156378

:wave:

SVRDhand13

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

i wonder how many millions of dollars we spent to get this one guy?

i guarantee a hundred thousand more americans could have health insurance for that price.

our priorities are so fucked up...

Yea, stopping major terrorists who have tried to kill Americans within the last few years? What a crazy idea :roll:.

gimmesometruth27

cincybearcat wrote:

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

i wonder how many millions of dollars we spent to get this one guy?

i guarantee a hundred thousand more americans could have health insurance for that price.

our priorities are so fucked up...

So, you disagree with this?

What if he lead an attack against the US killing American citizens...would you then be blaming the administration, DoD, CIA, FBI for not doing their jobs?

Really, I just want to know.

Because as I've grappled with these types of issues over the last decade and my own beliefs on them, I think this is part of an effective strategy and much better than nation building. But I do have some concerns with it as well.

there will be another one to take his place. we are their enemies because of our foreign policy. we keep doing the same shit that angers them, and then they attack us....it is a perpetual state of war, and it never changes. it will never change until we get off of their land, off of their oil, stop raining death down on their civilians, and stop our blanket support for israel. until we do those things, the wheels on the bus go round and round...

gimmesometruth27

SVRDhand13 wrote:

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

i wonder how many millions of dollars we spent to get this one guy?

i guarantee a hundred thousand more americans could have health insurance for that price.

our priorities are so fucked up...

Yea, stopping major terrorists who have tried to kill Americans within the last few years? What a crazy idea :roll:.

can't cut that pentagon budget now can we?

SVRDhand13

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

can't cut that pentagon budget now can we?

I understand the occupations in Iraq and Pakistan are largely a waste of time and money, but killing this guy was a must. While the underwear attack luckily failed miserably, he has shown the most potential for striking us. He had to go.

fuck

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn ... index.html

polaris_x

his death did nothing but martyr him and inspire more people to wage aggression on the US ... violence begets violence ...

all the leading security experts will tell you this ... assassinations and torture do not increase security but rather the opposite ...

so, relish in your insatiable thirst for blood and continue to ignore why groups like al qaeda exist

SVRDhand13

polaris_x wrote:

his death did nothing but martyr him and inspire more people to wage aggression on the US ... violence begets violence ...

all the leading security experts will tell you this ... assassinations and torture do not increase security but rather the opposite ...

so, relish in your insatiable thirst for blood and continue to ignore why groups like al qaeda exist

Oh please. Killing him stops a top leader from managing more attacks. I hate war and agree we must do only what is necessary, but going after these top terrorists is an absolute must to me. Are we supposed to stand around and let them become strong?

Newch91

SVRDhand13 wrote:

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

can't cut that pentagon budget now can we?

I understand the occupations in Iraq and Pakistan are largely a waste of time and money, but killing this guy was a must. While the underwear attack luckily failed miserably, he has shown the most potential for striking us. He had to go.

He was connected to the Ft. Hood shooting like the article said. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think they said he was also connected to the attempted car bomb in Times Square last year.

SVRDhand13

Newch91 wrote:

SVRDhand13 wrote:

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

can't cut that pentagon budget now can we?

I understand the occupations in Iraq and Pakistan are largely a waste of time and money, but killing this guy was a must. While the underwear attack luckily failed miserably, he has shown the most potential for striking us. He had to go.

He was connected to the Ft. Hood shooting like the article said. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think they said he was also connected to the attempted car bomb in Times Square last year.

I never heard he was involved in the Times Square attempt, but I know he was involved in planning the guy who tried to explode a bomb in a plane at the end of 2009.

gimmesometruth27

SVRDhand13 wrote:

polaris_x wrote:

his death did nothing but martyr him and inspire more people to wage aggression on the US ... violence begets violence ...

all the leading security experts will tell you this ... assassinations and torture do not increase security but rather the opposite ...

so, relish in your insatiable thirst for blood and continue to ignore why groups like al qaeda exist

Oh please. Killing him stops a top leader from managing more attacks. I hate war and agree we must do only what is necessary, but going after these top terrorists is an absolute must to me. Are we supposed to stand around and let them become strong?

at what point do we say "GOT 'EM ALL!! EVERYONE LOVES US AGAIN!!!" ??

we don't. we don't change our policies, hey get martyred and they reload to fight again another day..

we are perpetuating the cycle.

sorry if i don't rejoice at my country letting blood simply because we can..

Newch91

SVRDhand13 wrote:

Newch91 wrote:

SVRDhand13 wrote:

I understand the occupations in Iraq and Pakistan are largely a waste of time and money, but killing this guy was a must. While the underwear attack luckily failed miserably, he has shown the most potential for striking us. He had to go.

He was connected to the Ft. Hood shooting like the article said. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think they said he was also connected to the attempted car bomb in Times Square last year.

I never heard he was involved in the Times Square attempt, but I know he was involved in planning the guy who tried to explode a bomb in a plane at the end of 2009.

I thought I heard he was but I'm probably thinking of someone else. I know he was definitely involved with the underwear guy.

SVRDhand13

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

at what point do we say "GOT 'EM ALL!! EVERYONE LOVES US AGAIN!!!" ??

we don't. we don't change our policies, hey get martyred and they reload to fight again another day..

we are perpetuating the cycle.

sorry if i don't rejoice at my country letting blood simply because we can..

They will not stop attacking us if we stop going after their top leaders. If we let our guard down and back off we would have all of major cities getting attacked.

I am not rejoicing- I am happy that a person who is trying to kill Americans will no longer have the chance to do so. We can't change the way the world works overnight. We need to keep going after the terrorists while helping these countries that they grow up in. We need to change the culture- not let all these terrorists groups assemble and become stronger.

Cliffy6745

Maybe we should have asked him nicely to stop recruiting terrorists and stop plotting to kill as many Americans as possible. I bet if we said please he would cooperate.

Good riddance motherfucker. The world is a better place with your terrorist ass crushed by an 800 pound exploding missle.

Pretty interesting that Obama is doing a pretty good damn job at what Bush couldn't get done.

polaris_x

SVRDhand13 wrote:

Oh please. Killing him stops a top leader from managing more attacks. I hate war and agree we must do only what is necessary, but going after these top terrorists is an absolute must to me. Are we supposed to stand around and let them become strong?

every time you kill someone or torture someone - you are making them stronger ... these guys are replaceable ... there is no mastermind ... someone else just takes his place ...

again - until americans realize why there are groups like al qaeda ... there is no winning this war ...

Who Princess

cincybearcat wrote:

Because as I've grappled with these types of issues over the last decade and my own beliefs on them, I think this is part of an effective strategy and much better than nation building. But I do have some concerns with it as well.

I'm not sorry the guy's dead but I'm not sure how I feel about it. In a lot of ways a pretty good case could be made for getting rid of him. He certainly inspired a lot of people, like the Ft. Hood shooter, the underwear bomber, and the Times Square bomber.

But is calling for attacks the same thing as carrying them out? Did he ever actually commit any violence or plan any of the attacks he's associated with? As I understand it, he wasn't under any U.S. indictments. So now we use drone strikes to kill one of our citizens?

As I said, I'm not gonna mourn him. I just don't know if this will prove to be a major blow to Al Qaeda or an improvement in security.

Cliffy6745

polaris_x wrote:

SVRDhand13 wrote:

Oh please. Killing him stops a top leader from managing more attacks. I hate war and agree we must do only what is necessary, but going after these top terrorists is an absolute must to me. Are we supposed to stand around and let them become strong?

every time you kill someone or torture someone - you are making them stronger ... these guys are replaceable ... there is no mastermind ... someone else just takes his place ...

again - until americans realize why there are groups like al qaeda ... there is no winning this war ...

Torture certainly made them stronger. Killing an english speaking savvy recruiter who inspired many to kill Americans will not make them stronger. That's bullshit.